Repair or Replace? What To Do About Your Aging Asphalt Parking Lot

Nothing lasts forever, and asphalt is no exception. There comes a time with every parking lot where you need to ask whether it’s time to repair it, or replace it altogether.

A properly paved asphalt lot can last 20 – 30 years, but the lifespan and condition of any lot depends on many factors. Let’s take a look at the various kinds of damage and repairs, and when you should replace a lot entirely.

The Types of Asphalt Damage

Cracking

Cracking can take many forms, including shrinkage, widening, edge cracks, slippage, alligator cracks, and reflection. Cracks are caused by many different factors, such as water penetration, oxidation from the sun, freezing and thawing, and poor initial construction. Even the most minor cracks should be sealed as soon as possible, as small cracks can grow into bigger problems. Water or other debris can settle inside, causing the crack to grow, softening the base, and further threatening the integrity of the pavement. Larger cracks may be a warning sign of deeper issues.

Rutting

Rutting is when the pavement shows depressions, or grooves, from wear and tear caused by wheel loads. Ruts can be dangerous, leading to vehicles hydroplaning (from ponded water) that can result in loss of driver control. They can also be a result of deeper sub-soil or design problems, and lead to further deterioration. Ruts less than ⅓ inch deep can generally be left as is, but deeper ruts should be leveled and resurfaced.

When It’s Time To Repair

Crack Sealing

Crack sealing is exactly what it sounds like – filling small cracks to prevent further damage. Cracks that are straight or less than a quarter-inch wide can easily be repaired with a liquid filler. Before sealcoating or resurfacing, all cracks and existing damage must be repaired, so crack sealing is a first step towards further repair and a necessary ongoing maintenance responsibility. A yearly schedule of crack sealing is best to prolong the life of your lot.

Seal Coating

After you’ve filled any cracks, you can apply a layer of sealcoating. Sealant keeps the lot looking new and prevents corrosion from a variety of elements, including water, oxidation, UV rays, and oil and gas spills. The ideal time to seal asphalt pavement is when deterioration is first discovered. A new asphalt lot should not be sealed until it is at least 6 months old, and should be resealed every 2 – 4 years, depending on weather and amount of traffic.

Resurfacing (aka overlaying)

Resurfacing, also known as overlaying, adds a new layer of asphalt, generally 1.5 – 2 inches in depth, on top of the older one. If done right, a new layer of asphalt can add 8 – 15 years to your current lot, and costs less than a full replacement. All cracks and damage to the old layer need to be repaired before resurfacing, as un-repaired cracks will undermine the new layer. Resurfacing in cold weather can lead to premature deterioration, so the rule of thumb is to pave when temperatures are 50° F and above. Just because a lot is showing serious wear and tear and cracking, that doesn’t mean it needs to be replaced. Resurfacing is a great option to improve the condition of your lot without spending a lot of money.

Mill and Resurface

Resurfacing sometimes is not an option due to existing drainage patterns. When this is an issue milling and resurfacing may be a viable choice. Milling the surface involves the removal of the top layer of asphalt (usually 1” to 1.5”). Once the asphalt is removed, it is then replaced with a new layer of asphalt. Though this is one of the more expensive repairs, the quality of the final product and the service life can rival that of a new parking lot.

When It’s Time to Replace

Sometimes, a parking lot is beyond the point where even resurfacing will help. The answer to whether you should repair or replace essentially comes down to the condition of the lot’s base. Resurfacing is only as good as the surface it is layered on top of. If your parking lot is failing due to an underlying design, structural, sub-soil, or construction issue, none of the resurfacing options listed above will solve the problem in the long term. Though the parking lot will initially look better, the “repair” will be short-lived.

If a parking lot is approaching 20 years of age, or if 25-35% of the total surface area is in need of removal due to significant damage, it is generally more economical and effective to completely reconstruct the parking lot. With proper maintenance, your new lot can last another 20 – 30 years.

Proper evaluation and recommendations are critical to avoid any financial missteps to getting your parking lot back on-line.

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Bob Greene, PE, PG, CIH, LEED APPresident
As the founder and president of GLE, Bob Greene leads a highly diverse team of architects, engineers, environmental consultants, and construction experts to design fast and effective property solutions. He has served in the architecture, engineering, environmental consulting and remediation, and general construction arenas for nearly 40 years.
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I’m sure that some of us have been in parking lots where the owners don’t care anymore. We’ve seen the ones with cracks the side of small countries. It’s always important to take care of the little things to prevent the bigger problems from occurring.

There are some parking lots that I have driven through that have seen better days. What I like about this post is that it talks about what needs to be done to fix a crack, by using seal coating. I bet professional pavers could get a parking lot just like new in no time.

I didn’t realize that an asphalt parking lot can last 20-30 years if done correctly. It seems like maintaining by filling cracks and coating the surface could extend the life of the asphalt. I’m sure a lot of parking lots around here could use a service like this.

A buddy of mine built his home on an old parking lot and it looks awful. It hasn’t been kept up for years and he isn’t sure what to do. After reading this article though, I think his best bet will be getting it all redone and then seal coated so that it will last him a long time. I’ll show this to him and see what he thinks about it.

There are a lot of reasons to have a parking lot resurfaced, or replaced. They see a lot of traffic, and if it is not kept up, it can get really bad. I wonder how long a parking lot can keep if it is worked on regularly.

Thanks so much for sharing! I really like that you can repair cracks and seal the asphalt to prevent further damage from happening. After all, if you have cracks in your lot now, it is definitely possible that more will appear. So, it is nice that seal coating can be used to prevent even more damage from occurring.

The new way to repair cracks and make your pavement structurally strong is to do an infrared repair, reheating the surface with infrared heat to temperatures in the range of 250F so it can be scarified, Then the asphalt is sprayed with a rejuvenator, any new asphalt needed added, and the asphalt re-compacted like new. This process leaves a seamless, watertight edge that prevents water penetration,a major problem with normal remove and replace repair. In addition, the process can be done in 20-30 minutes to minimize disturbance of your tenants, and is 100% recycling so is re-using the value you initially put into the parking lot.
Using this method, doing a little bit every year, you can extend the life of your parking lot many years.

My asphalt it looking a little old and will need to get resurfaced soon. I didn’t know that the cracks in the asphalt needed to be repaired before moving forward with getting it resurfaced. I will definitely need to get the cracks fixed before I am able to get it resurfaced. Thanks for the information!

My parking lot isn’t as bad as the top image, but it does have cracks and weeds all through it. I’ve made the mistake of not getting this looked at sooner because think you’re right about the cracks growing. It may be too late to do any crack sealing. I think I will try looking at getting the parking lot redone.

I think we are going to resurface in the front of our house. We could definitely use another 8-15 years for our current lot! I’m planning on being in our house now for quite some time before we sell it again.

My brother recently moved into an older home with his family. He noticed that there were some cracks in his driveway and didn’t know what he could do to fix them. I didn’t realize that a professional asphalt company could take off the top layer of asphalt and replace it with a fresh layer, and that this process is called mill and resurface. I’ll be sure to let my brother know about this potential option.

As much work as it would be to seal coat a parking lot, it would be more work to replace it. At least with seal coating, the only additional work you would need to do is to re paint the lines for the parking stalls. As an added bonus, by sealing the asphalt, the pavement will take longer to deteriorate and won’t need to be replaced as soon.

It’s good to know that there are alternatives to replacing your driveway. I also didn’t realize that seal coating keeps your driveway from becoming corroded. It’s important to think of what asphalt options would be best for you, especially if you have a business and don’t want to be committed to a huge resurfacing project when you could have the parking lot seal-coated.

You said that we should sometimes consider replacing or repairing the parking lot. If I had a damaged parking lot to deal with I would want to get a professional’s help when deciding whether or not to replace it. Maybe I should ask someone that I trust for a professional that could help me know about replacement costs.

I recently noticed some small cracks appearing in my asphalt driveway, but I didn’t think too much of it. It’s interesting how you mentioned that even small cracks need to be taken care of soon or else they can spread and grow into a much bigger problem. What exactly would a paving contractor do to fix the cracks in my driveway to keep them from spreading?

We have an asphalt road that leads up to our house, and I notice there’s a crack the width of it. It was helpful to learn that if it’s less than a quarter inch wide, sealing it will usually fix it. I’ll have to go out and see how big it is, so that it doesn’t get worse over time.

Sealing cracks and pavement is a great practice to implement if you want to keep your parking lot safe and attractive for guests, but replacement is an eventual reality you also have to face. But knowing how and when will help a lot in saving your business money in the long run. Thanks for sharing!

It’s great to know that cracks which are straight or less than a quarter-inch wide can easily be repaired with a liquid filler. If I were to a parking lot, It’ll be delightful to know since a repair service is significantly cheaper than having to replace the whole area. Thanks for the awesome article!

I did not know that resurfacing should be done when temperatures are 50° F and above! I consider asphalt resurfacing near my office, and now I realize that I need to do it quickly before winter comes. Thanks for the information!

Our parking lot is aging and my dad plans to repair it. My uncle suggested seal coating it and shared this article with my dad. It says that seal coating keeps the lot looking new and prevents corrosion from variety of elements like water, oxidation, UV rays and oil and gas spills.

I appreciate you saying that resurfacing the parking lot is only as good as the surface it is layered on top of. My dad owns a local restaurant and has a very worn down, old parking lot. Thank you for the information on when to repair and when to replace parking lots.

Recently, I have noticed the growing number of cracks on my driveway which makes driving through it quite a rocky experience. Your advice to have it sealed and coated as it can help prevent it from having further damage is something I will be sure to do. That is why I’ll be doing my best to find some pretty good driveway repair services for it. Having this bumpy road is quite unbearable already. Thanks!

It was really informative how you said that in order to save the asphalt driveway, the first thing that we need to is to seal the cracks so as to prevent further damages, then have an ongoing maintenance to make sure that it stays that way. I am pretty sure that the driveway has a few cracks, so I guess I will suggest that my parents get the crack sealed first. I will talk to them about this as I am aware that getting a new asphalt driveway is the last thing that they will want to happen. Thank you for sharing this.

I didn’t know that a yearly schedule of crack sealing is best to prolong the life of your lot. Our driveway has a lot of cracks lately and my dad’s car was damaged because the tire fell in one of the holes. My mom suggested hiring paving contractors for driveway repair and shared this article with him.

I’ve been doing some research about how different companies keep up with maintaining their parking lots, and it’s fascinating to me to see all the different ways that you can repair a lot. It seems like resurfacing is the most convenient, as long as the weather is right. My favorite store is currently milling and resurfacing their lot, so now that I know what they’re doing, it’ll be an interesting process to watch.

You’ve got some great information on asphalt. I like how you said that the base of the area is how you tell if it needs to be replaced or repaired. Our driveway’s base looks like it’s crumbling, so we probably need a company to come and pave over it.